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Saturday, November 5, 2016

This is why the Monsef case is significant, Prime Minister

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seems to be having trouble understanding what the Maryam Monsef controversy is about.This week, he blamed it on unnamed people who are “spreading misinformation” and “trying to torque up an issue.”Since that’s nonsense, let’s help our PM understand what it’s about.It’s about equality before the law.It’s about Trudeau demonstrating to Canadians that a Liberal cabinet minister is not treated differently from ordinary citizens.Monsef, democratic institutions minister, recently confirmed, after inquiries by the Globe and Mail, that she was born in Iran, not Afghanistan.She said she had believed she was born in Afghanistan because her mother had told her this all her life, until recently, including when her family successfully applied to Canada for refugee status, when she was 11 years old.Monsef has said she will change her passport to show her birthplace correctly as Iran.The issue, as immigration lawyer Lorne Waldman recently explained to the Canadian Press, is that “if Monsef’s birthplace was misrepresented on her citizenship application as well, that would be grounds for revocation of citizenship, regardless of whether it was an innocent mistake or the fault of her mother.“And if the misrepresentation was on her permanent residence and refugee applications, she could even be deported.”...